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Concertmaster, composer and violinist, born in Chicago,
Illinois, to Russian immigrants.
He started playing violin at age five and by his teens had served in
the capacity of concertmaster and first violinist in a variety of string
quartets. After graduating high school, he
became the youngest member, at twenty, of the Chicago
Symphony
,
and concertmaster of the Chicago Civic Orchestra. In 1939, he joined the Illinois
Works Progress Administration Symphony and toured the U.S. It was back home in Chicago,
however, that he would meet and marry soprano Helen Margolyne of the
Chicago Civic Opera. To put
bread on the table, he worked at NBC Radio as a session musician, but
bigger things were in store for him.
In the mid-forties, he emigrated to Louisiana, where he served as
assistant conductor and concertmaster for the New Orleans Symphony. In 1945, he moved back to Chicago
and worked with NBC again, this time as concertmaster, a post he would hold
for the next decade. Opportunity
came knocking in the guise of David Carroll, music director for Mercury
Records, who encouraged him to move to L.A. in 1960. His first album was entitled Moods in Music. A series of albums followed,
including Exciting Sounds and Strings Afire. In the 1960s, Herman formed The
Clebanoff Strings, an eighteen-piece orchestra that toured the U.S. and
appeared on a number of recordings, by themselves and as background for a
litany of stars. Artists Clebanoff has
collaborated with in the recording studio include the likes of
Ann-Margret, Chet
Atkins, Ray Charles, Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day, Duane Eddy,
The Everly Brothers, Sonny James, Quincy Jones, The Platters, Frank
Sinatra
, and Sarah Vaughan.
Working in L.A. also afforded him the chance to play on some movie
soundtracks, including Breakfast at
Tiffany's, Charade, Che!, The Color Purple, Dirty
Harry, Enter the Dragon, and Love at First Bite. Herman Clebanoff's career
spanned seven decades. He died
on 13 January 2004 in Sherman Oaks, California, of natural causes, at age
86. A couple of compositions
Clebanoff is remembered for are "Millionaire's Hoedown"
and "Wildwood Flower", which he co-wrote with one of his
arrangers, Wayne Robinson. Both
remain staples in high-school band concerts throughout the U.S.
Lalo Schifrin
recordings
Love Rhapsody
from "The Concorde - Airport '79" (Lalo
Schifrin)
Theme from "The
Concorde - Aiport '79" (Lalo Schifrin)
Sources:
1.
http://www.spaceagepop.com/clebanof.htm
2.
http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Herman%20Clebanoff:1927049929:page=discography:subpage=all
3.
http://www.lifeinlegacy.com/2004/WIR20040207.html
4.
http://www.dougpayne.com/lsd66_75.htm
5.
http://www.einsiders.com/features/columns/jan04obituaries.php
6.
http://www.rbcmusic.com/rbcpubstringsolo.htm
7.
http://www.kusd.edu/media/pdf/news/1998/nov1398.htm
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